It's Been a Long Night
by Mia M. Turner
Summary: After finding out you're a mother, a future queen, and the only one who can save Earth, who wouldn't be stressed? Usagi feels she can't go on being Sailor Moon anymore, and the only person who can talk her out of it is Queen Serenity herself.


**A/N:** This is my first time venturing into the moonie-verse fiction world, so here goes nothing ) This was a request from one of my friends who's begging me for this for some time now, if I didn't make it clear enough in the fic, this take place a little after the "Legend of the Negamoon" episode. (I believe it's episode 82 in the original Japanese.) And that's enough of my rambling, on with the fic.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon. That honor goes to DiC, Cloverway, and Naoko Takeuchi herself.

She couldn't remember transforming into Sailor Moon to begin with. In fact, as Usagi continued forward, she wondered why she would have transformed in the first place. Nothing about this place seemed dangerous… Come to think of it, Usagi wasn't sure where she was. There seemed to be nothing in any direction; everywhere Usagi looked, there was simply darkness. For whatever reason though, her legs kept moving forward. She looked straight ahead and tried to determine if she was dreaming or not.

Usagi tried to keep alert and constantly turned to look behind her. She couldn't help feeling that if she had transformed into Sailor Moon, something bad must have been going on. She took in a deep breath and tried to remember what had happened that night. The last thing she could remember was Mamoru coming to save her from Demando.

Usagi frowned slightly at this thought. Simply thinking his name in her head made her blood boil… She _hated_ him. This man had taken everything from her; he took her away from her friends, he stole Chibi-usa from them, and in his attempts to destroy Crystal Tokyo, he was taking away her very future. The more she thought about this, the weaker she felt herself becoming. Each step she took became harder and harder, and she could feel her joints beginning to ache. She managed to take a few more steps before she felt a jolt of pain in her stomach that brought her to her knees. She clutched her stomach and leaned forward; through all the pain, however, all she could think about was what had happened.

She wasn't ready for this. Not at all. She wasn't ready to know that Chibi-usa was her daughter, wasn't ready to know she was going to rule an entire planet, wasn't ready to know that the entire existence of the earth depended on whether or not she was able to stop the Black Moon on her own. She knew thinking about these things would only make her feel worse, but she couldn't stop. Everything was beginning to pile on top of her; just last week all she had wanted was to pass her math final. Now she had to be a mother, a future queen, and Sailor Moon all at the same time. She could still hardly believe what was happening.

She was a _mother_. More appropriately, she was going to _be_ a mother… but having Chibi-usa with her made her feel responsible for her. After all, just because Chibi-usa was only visiting from the future didn't stop Usagi from being her mother. She glared at the ground. She couldn't believe Neo-Queen Serenity would put this kind of weight on her; why she would let her daughter come and reveal everything before she was ready. Usagi paused and then inwardly chuckled when she realized how mad she had just become at _herself._

'If I let Chibi-usa come here in the future,' she thought, 'I must have had a good reason.' She had to hold her head at this thought; Neo-Queen Serenity was always a different person in her mind. To know that it was really her was, to say the least, a little confusing. She closed her eyes tight and leaned forward again. 'You lied to me, Queen Serenity…' she found herself thinking. 'You told us you sent us to earth to live a _better_ life…'

The instant this thought crossed her mind, she felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She knew as well as anyone else that her mother had nothing to do with this. Quickly, she felt her thoughts were a poor way to repay her mother for dying for her. Through all the years of transforming into Sailor Moon, laying her life on the line simply because Luna told her it was what her mother wanted her to do, this was what it came to. Usagi stared at the ground, wondering what to do next. 'So this is what giving up is…' she thought to herself. She stayed that way for several minutes before hearing a voice above her.

"Serenity…?"

Usagi opened her eyes, but continued to stare at the ground. She hadn't heard anyone call her that in quite some time. (If anything, her friends knew that any acknowledgement of her being the Moon Princess drove her insane.) Somehow, she didn't mind this time. The person said it very gently, and obviously didn't intend to upset her. Usagi lifted her head to see a very familiar figure.

She was quite a bit taller than Usagi was, and in fact, looked very much like her. She had a long white dress, and her silver hair was put up in the same pigtailed hairstyle as Usagi's. She recognized that face after their previous meetings: Queen Serenity. Usagi's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. The only time Usagi had ever seen her was when she had something important to tell her, or a new power to give her. As overjoyed as Usagi often was to see her, she felt herself becoming angry again. Her load was heavy enough as it was; whatever new power or important information she had for her, she didn't want to hear it.

Queen Serenity must have sensed this, because she gave a small chuckle and said, "I've missed you too."

Usagi looked up at her again. As much as she had forgotten about the Moon Kingdom, she'd never forget how slow to anger her mother was. These were very different circumstances though. She wasn't the Moon Princess anymore, she was a teenager; a crybaby who enjoyed lazing around with friends and often let the occasional curse word or angry outburst slip. She couldn't help worrying that if anyone could get her mother's temper going, it was her.

"I can't do it anymore, Mama…" One sentence in and already Usagi had to mentally slap herself. 'Mama' wasn't exactly the most respectful (or mature) term she could have used, but she was starting to believe at this point that she simply didn't care. (She assumed she must have picked up the word from Chibi-usa.) "I've been trying my hardest to keep going… When I found out that Chibi-usa was my daughter, a-and when I found out I was supposed to take care of Crystal Tokyo, I tried to keep going, b-but after last night… I-I don't think I can keep this up..." Queen Serenity simply smiled.

"You're not going to let one night get in the way of being Sailor Moon, are you?" she asked softly. Usagi could feel her temper starting to flare a bit, but she did her best to keep it in.

"I've been getting really sick… I can't sleep and my head's been pounding—"

"Ah, so you're going to let a _headache_ get in the way of being Sailor Moon." She interrupted. Usagi held her breath and tried to hold her temper back again. She knew her mother was only trying to give her a pep talk, but it was the last thing she wanted right now. For once, she didn't want to be told that she had to keep going and be strong. She wanted someone to listen to what she was feeling as just _Usagi_. Not as the Moon Princess, not as Sailor Moon, but simply as a person. With this thought, her attempts to hold her temper back finally failed.

"I'm not letting _anything _stop me from being Sailor Moon!" she snapped. "But that's just it, isn't it? Everyone wants me to be Sailor Moon no matter _what_. It doesn't matter if I'm getting sick, o-or if everything is piling up on me—" Usagi had to stop here, as she was finding it difficult to talk with the sobs that were racking in her throat. She felt a hand gently touch her head.

"So… why _don't_ you quit then?" Queen Serenity asked, keeping her same sweet smile on her face. Usagi sniffed and looked up slightly.

"Because…" she had to pause and collect her thoughts. "B-Because when you and Luna told me all about everything you did for us…" she paused to wipe her eyes. "I-I feel like this is the best way to say thank you…"

Queen Serenity's smile widened, if that was at all possible at this point. "And you've done an excellent job, dear. Believe me, I do care. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't worry sick about you laying down your life to be Sailor Moon. But I've seen what you can do, and I know you can keep at it." Usagi could only stare with her mouth open. She couldn't believe her outburst hadn't upset her. She felt the familiar feeling of guilt well up in her stomach again. Her mother didn't deserve any of the accusations she had just made about her… After everything, she was just a concerned mother trying to keep an eye on her daughter, and all Usagi could do was snap at her.

"M-Mama…" there was another pause. "I'm sorry…" Queen Serenity's smile never left her face as she stroked Usagi's head.

"I've missed you so much," she said softly enough that Usagi could barely make out what she had said. It was difficult for her to see her mother showing any sort of weakness; since she had learned Queen Serenity was her mother, she had viewed her as a strong figure who wasn't afraid of anything. It was a rather silly thought, now that she thought about it. 'After all, everyone is afraid of _something_.' Usagi took in a deep breath and looked up again. She finally stood up, and though she wobbled for a short moment, she found the pain in her stomach and head was gone now. Usagi figured she couldn't keep her mother from worrying about her, but she could do her best to relieve those feelings by holding her head high and continuing to be Sailor Moon with all the confidence she could muster.

Usagi smiled brightly and hugged her mother tightly. A voice in the back of her head told her this behavior was hardly respectful, but she decided she was so far gone from being so at the point, that it didn't matter. Usagi's smile brightened when she felt her mother hug back. This was why she loved her so much, Usagi thought. It didn't matter to Queen Serenity that Usagi had changed so much when she began her new life on earth. While she was constantly given a hard time about being a crybaby, a bit clumsy, and emotional, she felt her mother knew that was just what made Usagi herself. She finally took a step back, suddenly feeling the urge to do nothing but make her mother proud.

"Thank you, Mama… I love you." Usagi tilted her head and smiled, causing her mother to giggle under her breath for a moment.

"I love you too. Now go do what you do best."

Usagi nodded and closed her eyes. She felt everything around her slowly fade away, until her entire world went black.

She opened her eyes several moments later, to find herself laying her head in Mamoru's lap. She yawned a bit and took in her surroundings. She had been dreaming…

Usagi gave a sleepy smile. Dream or no dream, she was still certain she had spoken with Queen Serenity herself once again.

And thanks to her, she was ready to face the world again, get Chibi-usa back, and save Crystal Tokyo.

And she would do it all for her.


End file.
